‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a… writer? This falls into the category entitled ‘Dubious’. I get ideas all the time. They tumble through my head in drips or in torrents, and I catch as many as I can and pour them into my book of things that need writing at some point. But, dear reader, not all ideas are created equal – and yes, [...]

Much as I don’t like to cast myself as the tormented artist, it seems that that is sometimes my fate. To suffer for one’s art implies that you deny yourself in some way – avoiding people, spending money you don’t have, breaking relationships – but the reverse is just as likely to be true, and that is the situation I find myself in. Writers are driven to write for various reasons. I’ve found that lately [...]

It’s getting very cold here. There was some very severe flooding in my area over the last week. My friends have no clean water; the authorities, uncaring and caring at the same time, have switched off the pumps to prevent contamination. Homes and businesses have been destroyed as the water swept through them. People are angry and afraid, looking for someone to blame while politicians and civil services wriggle away from their gaze. Last week, [...]

I tend to write a lot of drivel on this blog. Part of it is therapy, of a sort, in that it lets me talk about things that bother me. But really, the rest is a large chunk of drivel with a healthy dose of procrastination. I should be writing the Novel now instead of this. Anyway – blogs are usually used to connect with people. This got me thinking today – I follow a [...]

I was reading Nathan Bransford’s post about themes in writing, and it got me thinking as to whether my own writing has themes or overall meaning or whatnot. Like many young individuals, I was traumatised by the method of teaching English as if it were an autopsy. I’ve disliked much of Shakespeare for years because I was forced to pick apart his words and phrases, and forced to look for meaning and theme and metaphor [...]

I’m beginning to realise why so many office workers are suffering from stress. It’s because of bosses that demotivate, patronise, devalue and otherwise destroy their employees’ sense of well-being. I have two bosses. One is a leader beyond compare; understanding, open, and driven to get the best out of people by viewing them as real individuals with their own quirks and preferences. The other… is not so nice. They are patronising, unforgiving, unwilling to compromise. [...]

I was very surprised today to learn that some people still believe that migraines are just like normal headaches. That they think that they’re just very bad headaches, and you’ll be grand if you take some painkillers and stop being such a wimp. “It’s only a headache”, after all, and lots of people get headaches and don’t complain. This makes me quite annoyed. Let’s get one thing clear: migraines are not headaches. That’s like saying [...]

I read a very interesting blog post today over on www.nielsenhayden.com. You should go read it. It’s ok, I’ll wait. … … … Read it? Good. Here’s the part that really struck me: It’s a central narrative of Britain’s Got Talent: the shy, podgy little contestant comes out on stage and says they want to sing professionally; that they believe it’s what they were made to do. The audience titters cynically: Yeah, right. The judges [...]

I know full well why I’m not cranking out the Novel as fast as I’d like. I should have the damn thing done by now. November marks a year since I started it, and I’m only on the second draft. It needs at least another two drafts before I’ll try to pitch it. I’m hoping that I can get through them faster than it’s taken me to actually write the blasted thing. I can take [...]

Damn insomnia. Well, it happens sometimes. Can’t be helped, really. I just can’t sleep, and it usually takes an hour or two of blog-reading to get me down for the night. It always happens when I have work in the morning, which is all kinds of annoying. At least I’m spending the time productively tonight! My touch typing is getting better. It seems to be that I can really only do it properly when I [...]